Digestibility of animal and vegetable protein ingredients by pirarucu juveniles, Arapaima gigas

Ricardo Henrique Bastos De Souza,Filipe Dos Santos Cipriano,Luís Gustavo Tavares Braga,Érica Bevitório Passinato,Kauana Santos De Lima,William Cristiane Teles Tonini

doi:10.1590/s1806-92902016001000001

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the apparent digestibility coefficients of energy, protein, and amino acids in protein ingredients by pirarucu juveniles. A test was conducted with six protein ingredients: meat and bone meal, fish meal, hydrolyzed feather meal, poultry by-product meal, soybean meal, and corn gluten meal. Three repetitions were used for each tested ingredient. A reference feed was used with 430 g kg−1 crude protein and 19.63 kJ g−1 gross energy. The test feeds consisted of the replacement of 30% of the reference feeds with the test ingredients. Chromium oxide was added to the feeds at 1 g kg−1 as an external marker. Eighteen juveniles with an average weight of 235±36 g were used. The best apparent digestibility coefficients of protein were found for fish meal, followed by the poultry by-product meal and meat and bone meal. However, except for gluten, all the tested ingredients presented protein digestibilities above 0.70. The crude energy apparent digestibility coefficient was higher for animal ingredients, above 0.75, than for vegetable ingredients, which presented values below 0.60. Pirarucu efficiently uses the protein from the tested ingredients, regardless of origin. However, it has a preferential ability to use the energy from animal ingredients.

Highlights

Pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) is a carnivorous fish and an important source of income for fishermen in the region around the Amazon basin
A test was conducted with six protein ingredients: meat and bone meal, fish meal, hydrolyzed feather meal, poultry by-product meal, soybean meal, and corn gluten meal
The best apparent digestibility coefficients of dry matter (ADCDM) were found for the poultry by-product meal and fish meals, both of which were above 89.0%

Summary

Introduction

Pirarucu (Arapaima gigas) is a carnivorous fish and an important source of income for fishermen in the region around the Amazon basin. Pirarucu fishing is limited and regulated by inspection and environmental agencies to keep the stock from being depleted and to ensure that ecological balance is maintained, as it is a species at the top of its food chain (Castello et al, 2011) In recent years, this species has gained attention from the aquaculture industry because it presents both attractive characteristics for the development of its farming and a large size: it may reach more than 10 kg in a year. This species has gained attention from the aquaculture industry because it presents both attractive characteristics for the development of its farming and a large size: it may reach more than 10 kg in a year It has aerial respiration, a good carcass yield, and its meat is highly appreciated and valued (Imbiriba, 2001).

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